Gerry & the pacemakers

Plus 1 on this! Great sound, just know the songs are remixed. But remixed really well!

 

I adore Gerry!
I have the 4 CD "You'll never walk alone" set plus "The Best of the EMI Years" from 1992.

 

Immediately after the group broke up, Gerry attempted to get a solo career going with this Bee Gees tune in the spring of 1967. At this point, he was no longer being produced by George Martin, and essentially just used the Bee Gees' backing track, sticking his voice where Robin's had been previously. It was an earnest attempt at keeping up with the times, but for whatever reasons, it wasn't a hit on either side of the Atlantic:

 

For their limited time in the spotlight, back in the early to mid sixties, they did well. Initially they were The Beatles' chief rival as they burst upon the scene, but that didn't prove to last long. However they did produce some finely crafted Merseybeat tunes, and really, no collection is complete without at least a few of their hits.

 

I'm partial to their 1965 single Give All Your Love To Me. Dramatic and sort of bombastic - can't go wrong with that!

 

He's also spot-on.

 

There is a children's book that includes a CD, called Blue Moo: 17 Jukebox Hits From Way Back Never. The songs on the CD are mostly done by artists from the era of the early to mid 60's. Gerry and The Pacemakers do one of the tracks (Gerry Marsden and whoever was in the band in 2008), called Mersey Lullaby. It is a pretty ballad and very engaging song. All the songs were written by the book's author, Sandra Boynton, who is also a cartoonist/ illustrator. The songs vary from silly to sweet and although geared to children, they are not annoying and have a great sound. This is Gerry and The Pacemaker's song. I thought Gerry's fans here have likely not heard it, and I love it! It certainly has the same "sound". ..

 

they were smart to jump on it the first of three number ones in a row

 

Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Downhill after, pity.

 

I'm considering giving them another listen (also considering Searchers).
I don't want to pick Gerry & The Pacemakers solo for the Beatles connection.

Darryl

 

Have his solo recordings been compiled on CD? Based on that track, I'd like to hear more and possibly add them to my collection.

 

Not that I know of, but it would make a good collection. Perhaps Cherry Red Records or one of their associated labels could make that happen.

 

I didn't have extreme love for "Sun", "Ferry", and "I Like It", but I was okay with hearing them on the radio every other hour and seeing Gerry pop up on all the tv shows during the moments of the era of those three records. At least they didn't irritate me.

I also remember that "Girl on A Swing", "Cherish", and "Good Vibrations" were... for a couple of weeks.... in heavy rotation with each other on the radio. Where I was anyway. I thought "Swing" was cool the first couple of times I heard it, but then I decided I didn't like it anywhere as much as the other two records.

 

There is this (semi-legal?) CD of the US-only 'Girl On A Swing' album, which has the A's and B's of Gerry's first 4 solo singles as bonus tracks....

FIR 151 – GERRY & THE PACEMAKERS – GIRL ON A SWING | ROCK in BEAT Records »

 

Boot, arguably legal in Europe. The same label that released the DC5's entire catalog, as two-fers. They're pretty great. Lots of other marginal British Invasion titles, too.

 

Just starting. Just disk 1 so far but I like the brash clear style. And the covers of old school rock like Maybelline and It'll Be Me. Early Lulu had the same approach (just heard some of that last year.)

Of course I love the big hits. There's a Mersey river (and Liverpool) in NS, but no ferry.

 

I would love to get into them more. What is the best way to get into their discography, like the best album to start with aside from typical compilations?

 

Spotify: listen to songs, find out what songs the albums are on, usually comps. Vinyl ? Their debut album /uk.
Cds ? Earlier EMI the better. Then comps.Again, listen to songs first. Soundtrack " Ferry Cross The Mersey" has a lot of period charm.

 

Gerry said Paul McCartney had tbe best vocal chops in Liverpool. Mr Marsden was no slouch either in the throat department.

 

Leaning more towards Gerry & The Pacemakers Because I know more of their songs, where as I only know 2 Searchers songs. Sugar & Spice, Needles & Pins.
Picking up the comp. I meantioned in post #38.

Darryl

 

Well, this one is probably the best way to get everything they released in one package, but I see it's out of print now and a bit expensive.

You'll Never Walk Alone (The EMI Years 1963-1966)


This one is a collection of their US albums and still in print.


Some good comps are:


Mastered by our host.


Compiled and remixed by Ron Furmanek.

I like this one as well because I like the track selection and the studio chatter between some songs (same with the Furmanek disc above). But I believe the "At Abbey Road" series is looked down upon on this forum. .



Enjoy.

 

Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers
Into Our Lives: The EMI Years 1961-1969


I'd add these as well, although they're not 4 CD sets.

 

Darryl,

Glad you're getting into Gerry & The Pacemakers. You really should dig deeper into The Searchers as there's loads of good stuff there to enjoy as well.

 

Thanks for pointing this one out. Looking them up, these guys seemed to have the energy that many lesser-known 60's British R&B acts lacked.

 

Is there a Merseybeat/Liverpool thread?